Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a Christian worldview

Tag Archives: Paul Giamatti


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My Review of Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale, rated PG-13
*** ½

Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale is a pleasing ending to the television and film franchise about the aristocratic Crawley family and their domestic servants in England. The film was directed by Simon Curtis (Downton Abbey: A New Era), and was written by Oscar winner Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park). It is the sequel to 2022’s Downton Abbey: A New Era, and is the third, and presumably final, Downton Abbey film.
The film takes place in 1930, a year after the stock market crash, in London and Yorkshire. Long-time fans of the television series will be pleased to see most of the loved characters from the series returning (Dame Maggie Smith, to whom the film is dedicated, died in 2024). Continue reading →


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My Review of JUNGLE CRUISE

Jungle Cruise, rated PG-13
***

Jungle Cruise, the latest Disney film to be inspired by one of their theme park attractions, is an entertaining action/adventure film, that includes a lot of humor, though may be too dark and scary for very young children. The film, which had a budget of approximately $200 million, was directed by Jaume Collet-Serra (The Commuter, Non-Stop), and had a team of five writers.
The film opens in 1916, with MacGregor Houghton, played by British comedian Jack Whitehall, trying to convince the Royal Academy in London to finance an expedition into the Amazon to find the Tears of the Moon tree, the petals of which are said to have healing powers. While he is speaking, his sister, Lily, played by Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place), sneaks into the archives of the Academy and steals an arrowhead from the last Amazon expedition, which is key to unlocking the location of the tree. Lily steals the arrowhead just as German Joachim, played by two-time Emmy nominee Jesse Plemons (Fargo, Black Mirror) is set to collect it after making a large donation to the Academy. Continue reading →